Wren made a move to open the door and step back out of the car but shook her head as if to clear her mind then suddenly her body went limp and she passed out, falling back into Michael's arms. "Lady Wren?...My Lady! Speak to me!" Michael's voice was frantic as he gently shook Wren, trying to wake her up.
"Madame Wren?...Madame Wren? Did you call out to us?...We are at your service...We of the realm only wish to service our Priestess." A distant, soft tone voice called out to her in the darkness. Wren slowly tried to open her eyes but couldn't. "Jixey? Why did you...How did...When did I enter-" "Lady Wren please open your eyes!" Wren was startled when she heard Michael's voice in that realm, and she was finally able to open her eyes. 'Thank goodness, she's safe.' Michael thought to himself and hugged Wren tightly.
Wren was taken aback by his gesture but lightly hugged him back anyways. "I'm okay Michael, really. I just got a bit faint due to the new, well old, checkpoint procedures...I'm fi...Um, could you please let me go now? You are...hugging me pretty tightly." Michael finally realized that he was hugging Wren so tight, his face turned bright red and he immediately apologized, stood up, and walked away.
Wren sat up from where they laid her down outside the car, and braced her back against the rear tire. Naya was sitting in the passenger side of the car with the door open and her feet hanging out, touching the short grass below. "What the hell was that Wren? What was that!? What aren't you telling Michael...and-and ME for that matter?...He is far enough away right now, you can tell me." Naya spoke softly to her friend, hoping to coax her into talking.
Wren took a deep breath in and let it out. "Its not that I haven't wanted to tell both you and Michael what has been going on, but until now, there hadn't really been a problem and I didn't really have the information. I'll tell Michael soon, he's just a bit overwhelmed with all that's happened since Haruki's attack...I-I don't want him to worry unnecessarily. He is a great warrior and guardian, we can't loose his strength at a time like this."
Naya sat there patiently, facing her friend, waiting for her to continue. Wren sighed before starting again, "The realm is becoming more and more unstable. Once the Kalina Clan members blood has been linked through the checkpoints, we can be called away at anytime by the elders and pretty much anyone with enough spiritual and nature energy, who resides in that realm." Wren faced her friend, she looked into her light brown eyes and noticed more and more gold flakes. 'She's progressed more than I realized, when did I miss that?' Wren thought to herself.
"So that means sprites and-" Wren shook her head and chuckled. "No Naya, I mean souls of the fallen elders and priests/priestesses, possibly even Arusha or any of the other great animal spirits if they reside in the realm. Well, only if the animal spirits are in their human form and can summon enough energy while using the souls of the elders to their advantage, and if they can get into the realm in the first place." Wren shrugged her shoulders, 'It's not impossible for them to enter but because they have been spiritually dormant so long, the chance is minimal,' Wren thought.
Naya was about to ask a question when Wren continued to talk, "They can cause our spirits to enter the realm and our bodies would pretty much be lifeless where we stood, allowing them to then find out bodies and kill us. In this state, our bodies are vulnerable because our spirits are in the realm and our bodies are here. Something like that happened within the Tadahshi clan a few hundred years ago...Didn't Mav go over this with you? Or were you just so busy checking him out the whole-"
Naya rushed over to Wren and roughly put her hand over her mouth. "Wren, shut it! What if someone were to hear you!? Oh my gosh I would die of embarrassment!" Naya uncovered Wrens mouth and proceeded to hide her own face in her hands. Wren chuckled, "Oh Naya, you are something else. Look, it's not like the clan members would harped on it or anything...Well, I mean Eve has already been promised to wed Maverick but you still-" CRACK! BANG!
There was a loud sound of something breaking then falling in the distance. This main sound was followed by similar sounds of breaking branches. The two sprung up and got on the defensive, with their backs facing each others in order to minimize sneak attacks. "Naya, I'm going to reach out and see if I can locate anything okay?...Just stay calm, I'm going to need to borrow your mind for a moment if that's alright." Wren knew Naya wasn't a fan of this, but with potential danger around it couldn't be helped and was their best option.
Naya nodded her head and without a second thought, Wren used Naya's mind to help her reach out towards the noises. Wren closed her eyes in order to better focus. Even though her eyes were closed she could "see" the area around them. The trees had an almost foggy or cloudy look to them and everything was grey toned with occasional blue flickers of light representing spiritual energy that has been manifested. Wren moved her eyes in every direction. Using Naya's mind to help her reach go further out into the distance.
Wren couldn't see any abnormal energies close by, but when she reached further, she saw a huge yellow tinted flame. Wren snapped her eyes open, "Naya, get in the car now. We need to get to the protected area. We can't stay here." The cracking sounds continued, and the ground seemed to slightly quiver under the weight. Naya nodded and tried to steady her shaking hands. She knew what Wren saw because it was her mind that Wren was using. 'I-it c-c-can't be!' Naya silently thought to herself.
Wren jumped in the drivers seat and started the car while Naya closed the door on the passenger side. "We have to get through the checkpoints quickly and warn the others." Wren said as she stepped on the gas pedal and began to drive off. There was a shortcut Wren was heading towards that could get them through the next checkpoints, but she was worried for her friends. 'It won't be easy on their body. Gosh but what choice do I have!?' Wren was thinking to herself when Naya suddenly screamed, "Watch out Wren!" Wren looked up and quickly slammed on the breaks.